Jazzie Redd

Musician, rapper, songwriter, radio personality, producer, DJ, actor, and entrepreneur whose career extends 35+ years.

Born April 14 in the early 1960's in Houston, Texas as Rodney Lloyd Edmonson to mother Janie Mae Edmonson, and father, and former American NFL professional football player, and professional wrestler Ernie the "Big Cat" Ladd. He attended Jefferson Davis High School and later studied music at University of Houston-Downtown. He started rapping in the early 80's, and notably, in 1984 he became (one of the earliest), if not the 1st rapper in Houston, Texas to record a 7" vinyl record called "Break Dancing" with a group called Chance. Continuing his career, he started his own record label "Redd Smoke Records" with radio personality Jerry Smokin' B. Rupert, and put out the single "Top Secret" in 1987, with the late Eric Prince Ezzy E. Woods.

He went on to become a radio personality for KTSU's "90.9 Choice FM" at T.S.U. (Texas Southern University) before moving to California to sign a deal with Quality Records and rapper Toddy Tee. After co-writing songs for artists such as Toddy Tee, King Tee, Candy Man, and Mix Master Spade, he put out several releases such as "Beach Girl", "Spice Of Life", "The Colors Of Jazz EP", and "I Am A Dope Fiend" on Pump/Quality Records. The anti-drug hit-single and music video "I Am A Dope Fiend" garnered nationwide success, even being featured on Jimmy Fallon's "Do Not Play" segment of the Tonight Show in 2015.

After leaving California and heading back to Houston, Texas, Jazzie Redd joined up with friend Kenneth Coleman on Stone Records and went on to record his studio album "The Voice of Authority" and E.P. "Mile High Madness". He joined KBXX's 97.9 the Box in 2002 as a weekend radio presenter, but left in 2006 to join yet another Radio Station, this time in Beaumont, Texas, Cumulus Broadcasting's "Magic 102.5" where he hosted "BIG HOMIE Jazzie Redd" which aired Monday-Friday at 5 PM-10 PM, and became the number one rated radio personality in South East Texas in the early-to-mid 2000's. Other radio host jobs include Hot 97.9 FM in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Isle 95 in St. Croix.

He ended up studying Phlebotomy/EKG Tech at Concorde Career Institute, and in 2013 he married Kailyn Deshondra Edmonson to which they later had three children together. Including his three other children from a previous relationship, his children include Jasmine Autrey, Janie Marie Edmonson, Raidyn La'Vayah Edmonson, Rameila Karlissa Mae Edmonson, Rodney Lloyd Edmonson Jr., and Rodney Lloyd Edmonson III.

In 2018 Mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner declared April 14th "Jazzie Redd Day" and on May 22, 2019 Jazzie Redd declared on a Facebook post that he would be leaving Magic 102.5. Jazzie Redd has since been running several of his own businesses such as RLE Entertainment Mobile DJ Service and Edmonson Cleaning Services, based in South East Texas.

As far as his theatrical career goes, Jazzie Redd has worked on Robert Townsend’s “The Five Heartbeats” for 20th Century Fox (1991), Artie Mandelberg's “Too Legit: The M.C Hammer Story” for VH1 (2001) as well as gaining a role in A.B. Harris's 2003 Thriller "Deadly Wordz". He has also starred in the hit gospel stage plays “Lord I Won't Complain” by Carol Eisom, “Don’t You Wanna Go To Heaven?” by Loretta Francisco-Norris, “When Momma Prays” by Evangelist Jerry P. Beasley, “Blue Front Blues” by Roseadrian Productions, and Wreckshop Records' "The Dirty 3rd Part 2".